How does James Franklin assess PSU's OL after four weeks?
Penn State has the nation's No. 18 passing offense and the No. 111 rushing attack in the country, and that's led to there being questions about the Nittany Lions' offensive line after a 4-0 start.
Entering the season, position coach Phil Trautwein had four starters locked in with Rasheed Walker at left tackle, Mike Miranda at center, Juice Scruggs at right guard, and Caedan Wallace at right tackle. A battle took place between Eric Wilson and Anthony Whigan for the left guard job, and Wilson has won that. Bryce Effner does see some rotational snaps, but for the most part, the starting five are the starting five, and many observers have wanted to see more from them, including their head coach.
"I'd like to see us play with a little bit more of an edge, you know, specifically in the run game but really the pass game as well," James Franklin said on Tuesday. there's opportunities. I'd like to see us play with a little bit more of an edge. But, overall, I would give us a positive grade."
What does that edge look like?
"I'm looking for fanatical effort, which I think we've done a pretty good job of playing with really good effort," Franklin said later in his news conference.
"And, I'm looking for an amount of aggressiveness that is right up to the edge of what is legal and appropriate, from the snap of the ball until the whistle is blown, so nothing that's going to be viewed or looked at as dirty, nothing that's going to create penalties after the snap, but when people watch us play, that they see a team that plays with tremendous effort and aggressiveness from the time the ball is snapped to the whistles blown."
The focus this Saturday against Indiana (7:30, ABC) will be on whether or not the Nittany Lions can move the Hoosiers' front seven enough to get the ground game going. Through a perfect start, that part of the offense has been almost nonexistent. Noah Cain leads the backs with 164 yards, Keyvone Lee has netted 100, and no other back has topped the century mark this season.
For Penn State to compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff, it will need to be better in that area so that it is not one-dimensional against the best remaining foes on its schedule. The players must show improvement from September to October to make that a reality, and it starts at practice this week.
Success in the passing attack is a plus and should not be overlooked or ignored, but anyone watching knows that there is certainly room for improvement as the full Big Ten slate begins.
"Overall, I would say good, I think as a full group, a full unit, and obviously finding a way to be 1-0 each week and putting points on the board," Franklin said. "I think we have protected the quarterback better, probably, in a four-game stretch to start the season than we have in the past.
"I still think we can be a little bit better there."
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